LINCOLN, NE&nbsp;– Governor Jim Pillen has announced the appointment of Dr. Matthew J. McCarville as chief information officer for the state of Nebraska. McCarville starts his new role today. &nbsp;

“Dr. McCarville’s information technology experience and expertise nationally and internationally in the public and private sectors is extensive,” said Gov. Jim Pillen. “I look forward to working with Dr. McCarville to eliminate state reliance on obsolete IT systems and delivering transformative cost savings to taxpayers. "

Most recently, Dr. McCarville served as chief information officer and assistant vice chancellor of information technology services and operations at the University of Colorado, Denver. He’s also served as vice president – education, data strategy, and chief strategy officer at MTX Consulting Group/Maverick A1. Prior to those roles, Dr. McCarville was the state of Florida’s chief data officer, overseeing information technology needs for state agencies, counties, 28 colleges and 12 universities.&nbsp;

Dr. McCarville returns to Nebraska – the state where he was raised and attended school. He earned all his degrees from Creighton University, including a Doctorate in Business Administration.

Office of Governor Jim PillenLINCOLN, NE&nbsp;– Governor Jim Pillen has announced the appointment of Dr. Matthew J. McCarville as chief information officer for the state of Nebraska. McCarville starts his new role today. &nbsp;“Dr. McCarville’s information technology experience and expertise nationally and internationally in the public and private sectors is extensive,” said Gov. Jim Pillen. “I look forward to working with Dr. McCarville to eliminate state reliance on obsolete IT systems and delivering transformative cost savings to taxpayers. "Most recently, Dr. McCarville served as chief information officer and assistant vice chancellor of information technology services and operations at the University of Colorado, Denver. He’s also served as vice president – education, data strategy, and chief strategy officer at MTX Consulting Group/Maverick A1. Prior to those roles, Dr. McCarville was the state of Florida’s chief data officer, overseeing information technology needs for state agencies, counties, 28 colleges and 12 universities.&nbsp;Dr. McCarville returns to Nebraska – the state where he was raised and attended school. He earned all his degrees from Creighton University, including a Doctorate in Business Administration.

Governor Pillen Names New Chief Information Officer

Office of Nebraska Treasurer Tom Briese

(Lincoln, NE) Today, Nebraska Treasurer Tom Briese announced the winners in the 2024 “Why I Want to Go to College” contest, sponsored jointly by the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office and the Omaha Storm Chasers. The winners will be recognized&nbsp;before the beginning of the April 28th Omaha Storm Chasers game at Werner Park in Papillion.

“I’m looking forward to meeting with these talented students and celebrating their commitment to their education and their future,” said Treasurer Briese, Trustee of NEST. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate young students than a day at the ballpark.”

Briese also thanked the parents, instructors, and educators who encouraged students to submit essays. “This is such a great celebration of students, their families, and the educators who encourage the participation in activities such as these. Enthusiasm for higher education is contagious. The efforts by educators and parents do not go unnoticed, so a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who encourages a young student to think about the future.”

Winners receive contributions to NEST 529 college savings plans, ranging in value from $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second place, and $500 for third place.

Three winners were chosen in each of Nebraska’s three U.S. congressional districts. Three winners from outside Nebraska were also chosen.

Students were asked to reflect in their written entries on the value of education and what they hope to achieve through higher education. Winners of the 2024 contest and their hometowns are listed below:

1st&nbsp;Congressional District – Nebraska

First:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Aiden Jurgensen, Clarkson

Second:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Emily Ballou, La Vista

Third:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Knox Petersen, Lincoln

2nd&nbsp;Congressional District – Nebraska

First:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Javian Erving, Omaha

Second:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Isaac Davidson, Omaha

Third:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Olivia Dabbert, Omaha

3rd&nbsp;Congressional District – Nebraska

First:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Lila Brennemann, Hyannis

Second:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kylee Osmotherly, Crawford

Third:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kaylin Kliewer, Lawrence

First:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Brielle Feller, Olathe, KS

Second:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ariabella Dimino, Waynesboro, PA

Third:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Daniel Dragovich, Lombard, IL

Office of Nebraska Treasurer Tom Briese(Lincoln, NE) Today, Nebraska Treasurer Tom Briese announced the winners in the 2024 “Why I Want to Go to College” contest, sponsored jointly by the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office and the Omaha Storm Chasers. The winners will be recognized&nbsp;before the beginning of the April 28th Omaha Storm Chasers game at Werner Park in Papillion.“I’m looking forward to meeting with these talented students and celebrating their commitment to their education and their future,” said Treasurer Briese, Trustee of NEST. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate young students than a day at the ballpark.”Briese also thanked the parents, instructors, and educators who encouraged students to submit essays. “This is such a great celebration of students, their families, and the educators who encourage the participation in activities such as these. Enthusiasm for higher education is contagious. The efforts by educators and parents do not go unnoticed, so a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who encourages a young student to think about the future.”Winners receive contributions to NEST 529 college savings plans, ranging in value from $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second place, and $500 for third place.Three winners were chosen in each of Nebraska’s three U.S. congressional districts. Three winners from outside Nebraska were also chosen.Students were asked to reflect in their written entries on the value of education and what they hope to achieve through higher education. Winners of the 2024 contest and their hometowns are listed below:1st&nbsp;Congressional District – NebraskaFirst:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Aiden Jurgensen, ClarksonSecond:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Emily Ballou, La VistaThird:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Knox Petersen, Lincoln2nd&nbsp;Congressional District – NebraskaFirst:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Javian Erving, OmahaSecond:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Isaac Davidson, OmahaThird:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Olivia Dabbert, Omaha3rd&nbsp;Congressional District – NebraskaFirst:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Lila Brennemann, HyannisSecond:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kylee Osmotherly, CrawfordThird:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kaylin Kliewer, LawrenceOut of StateFirst:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Brielle Feller, Olathe, KSSecond:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ariabella Dimino, Waynesboro, PAThird:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Daniel Dragovich, Lombard, IL

Treasurer Briese Announces ‘Why I Want to Go to College’ Winners

United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Clifton D. Reinoehl, 44, of Sheridan, Wyoming, was sentenced April 22, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for production and possession of child pornography. Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Reinoehl to a total of 264 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Reinoehl’s release from prison, he will begin a 15-year term of supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender. Reinoehl was also ordered to pay $54,000 to the victims.

In February of 2023, the manager of a hotel in Schuyler, Nebraska called law enforcement to report a suspicious male guest who was seen with a very young girl. The two had left the hotel together. While law enforcement was speaking with hotel staff on scene, the male returned and was identified as Clifton Reinoehl from Sheridan, Wyoming. Reinoehl advised he had rented a vehicle and driven to Schuyler to meet an “online friend” he identified as an underage girl. Reinoehl confirmed he knew that the victim was a minor from their online conversations and further confirmed his knowledge of her age by relating to law enforcement various facts about the victim, including her birthdate.

Reinoehl was taken to the police department and interviewed. He advised his phone would have child pornography on it and signed a written consent to have his phone searched. When his property was inventoried in preparation for jail, a SD card was located that he advised would also have child pornography images. Reinoehl also advised he had a laptop at his residence in Wyoming would contain additional images of child pornography.&nbsp; Officers with the Schuyler Police Department were able to work with their counterparts in Sheridan, Wyoming to secure a search warrant for the laptop Reinoehl identified. That computer contained 2,689 child pornography files and another 14,278 that were classified as child erotica. Further investigation revealed that Reinoehl would actively communicate with children online and manipulate and groom them to send him sexually explicit images of themselves to him.

In pronouncing his sentence, Senior Judge Gerrard commended the bravery and courage of the victim for coming forward and for cooperating with law enforcement. He also noted Reinoehl appeared to have a “significant lack of insight into the damage” he had inflicted on multiple children.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.justice.gov/psc" target="_blank">www.justice.gov/psc</a>.

This case was investigated by the Schuyler Police Department, Sheridan, Wyoming Police Department the Nebraska State Patrol, and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office gives special thanks to the victim in this case for stepping forward to protect other children, for her family for supporting her, and to Sgt. Ryan Andel with the Schuyler Police Department and Juana Hanson with the Colfax County Attorney’s Office for their assistance with the case.

United States AttorneyUnited States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Clifton D. Reinoehl, 44, of Sheridan, Wyoming, was sentenced April 22, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for production and possession of child pornography. Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Reinoehl to a total of 264 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Reinoehl’s release from prison, he will begin a 15-year term of supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender. Reinoehl was also ordered to pay $54,000 to the victims.In February of 2023, the manager of a hotel in Schuyler, Nebraska called law enforcement to report a suspicious male guest who was seen with a very young girl. The two had left the hotel together. While law enforcement was speaking with hotel staff on scene, the male returned and was identified as Clifton Reinoehl from Sheridan, Wyoming. Reinoehl advised he had rented a vehicle and driven to Schuyler to meet an “online friend” he identified as an underage girl. Reinoehl confirmed he knew that the victim was a minor from their online conversations and further confirmed his knowledge of her age by relating to law enforcement various facts about the victim, including her birthdate.Reinoehl was taken to the police department and interviewed. He advised his phone would have child pornography on it and signed a written consent to have his phone searched. When his property was inventoried in preparation for jail, a SD card was located that he advised would also have child pornography images. Reinoehl also advised he had a laptop at his residence in Wyoming would contain additional images of child pornography.&nbsp; Officers with the Schuyler Police Department were able to work with their counterparts in Sheridan, Wyoming to secure a search warrant for the laptop Reinoehl identified. That computer contained 2,689 child pornography files and another 14,278 that were classified as child erotica. Further investigation revealed that Reinoehl would actively communicate with children online and manipulate and groom them to send him sexually explicit images of themselves to him.In pronouncing his sentence, Senior Judge Gerrard commended the bravery and courage of the victim for coming forward and for cooperating with law enforcement. He also noted Reinoehl appeared to have a “significant lack of insight into the damage” he had inflicted on multiple children.This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.justice.gov/psc" target="_blank">www.justice.gov/psc</a>.This case was investigated by the Schuyler Police Department, Sheridan, Wyoming Police Department the Nebraska State Patrol, and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office gives special thanks to the victim in this case for stepping forward to protect other children, for her family for supporting her, and to Sgt. Ryan Andel with the Schuyler Police Department and Juana Hanson with the Colfax County Attorney’s Office for their assistance with the case.

Wyoming Man Sentenced for Distribution of Child Pornography

NEW YORK (AP) — Columbia canceled in-person classes, dozens of protesters were arrested at New York University and Yale, and the gates to Harvard Yard were closed to the public on Monday as some of the most prestigious U.S. universities sought to defuse campus tensions over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-04-22-2024-85da1c989f71f8c3bf00d8b45a0ed7f1">Israel's war with Hamas</a>.

The various actions followed the arrest last week of more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had camped out on Columbia's green, as schools struggle with where to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/campus-free-speech-young-generation-tension-b931b0dd41aacaac5c50710de9549b09">draw the line</a>&nbsp;between allowing free expression while maintaining a safe and inclusive campus.

In addition to the demonstrations at the Ivy League schools, pro-Palestinian encampments have sprouted up on other campuses, including at the University of Michigan, New York University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In a statement on Instagram on Monday, New York University officials warned protesters to clear the plaza by 4 p.m. or face consequences. Mass arrests began around 8:30 p.m.

The protests have pitted students against one another, with pro-Palestinian students demanding that their schools condemn Israel's assault on Gaza and divest from companies that sell weapons to Israel. Some Jewish students, meanwhile, say much of the criticism of Israel has veered into antisemitism and made them feel unsafe, and they point out that Hamas is still holding hostages taken during the group's Oct. 7 invasion.

Tensions remained high Monday at Columbia in New York City, where the campus gates were locked to anyone without a school ID and where protests broke out both on campus and outside.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning, a Democrat from North Carolina who was visiting Columbia with three other Jewish members of Congress, told reporters after meeting with students from the Jewish Law Students Association that there was “an enormous encampment of people” who had taken up about a third of the green.

“We saw signs indicating that Israel should be destroyed,” she said after leaving the Morningside Heights campus.

A woman inside the campus gates led about two dozen protesters on the street outside in a chant of, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” — a charged phrase that can mean&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/river-sea-israel-gaza-hamas-protests-d7abbd756f481fe50b6fa5c0b907cd49">vastly different things</a>&nbsp;to different groups. Meanwhile, a small group of pro-Israel counter demonstrators protested nearby.

University President Minouche Shafik said in a message to the school community Monday that she was “deeply saddened” by what was happening on campus.

“To deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps, I am announcing that all classes will be held virtually on Monday,” Shafik wrote, noting that students who don’t live on campus should stay away.

Robert Kraft, who owns the New England Patriots football team and funded the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life across from Columbia’s campus, said he was suspending donations to the university.

“I am no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff and I am not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken,” he said in a statement.

Protests have roiled many college campuses since Hamas’&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-gaza-war-oct-7-327bfeb7bfce5cb0de1568bf41a0ff06">deadly attack</a>&nbsp;on southern Israel, when militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. During the ensuing war, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and non-combatants but says at least&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gaza-aqsa-martyrs-hospital-health-care-israel-7c7a6117efae29e22a61e82151144613">two-thirds of the dead are children and women</a>.

Prahlad Iyengar, an MIT graduate student studying electrical engineering, was among about two dozen students who set up a tent encampment on the school's Cambridge, Massachusetts, campus Sunday evening. They are calling for a cease-fire and are protesting what they describe as MIT’s “complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza," he said.

“MIT has not even called for a cease-fire, and that’s a demand we have for sure,” Iyengar said.

He also said MIT has been sending out confusing rules about protests.

“We’re out here to demonstrate that we reserve the right to protest. It’s an essential part of living on a college campus,” Iyengar said.

On Sunday, Elie Buechler, a rabbi for the Orthodox Union’s Jewish Learning Initiative at Columbia, sent a WhatsApp message to nearly 300 Jewish students recommending they go home until it’s safer for them on campus.

The latest developments came ahead of the Monday evening start of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Nicholas Baum, a 19-year-old Jewish freshman who lives in a Jewish theological seminary building two blocks from Columbia's campus, said protesters over the weekend were "calling for Hamas to blow away Tel Aviv and Israel.” He said some of the protesters shouting antisemitic slurs were not students.

“Jews are scared at Columbia. It’s as simple as that. There’s been so much vilification of Zionism, and it has spilled over into the vilification of Judaism,” he said.

The protest encampment sprung up at Columbia on Wednesday, the same day that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/columbia-president-congress-israel-hamas-antisemitism-3255357b4443c1fb4bae8b8ea5774ee5">Shafik faced bruising criticism</a>&nbsp;at a congressional hearing from Republicans who said she hadn't done enough to fight antisemitism. Two other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/columbia-president-congress-israel-hamas-antisemitism-3255357b4443c1fb4bae8b8ea5774ee5">Ivy League presidents resigned</a>&nbsp;months ago following widely criticized testimony they gave to the same committee.

In her statement Monday, Shafik said the Middle East conflict is terrible and that she understands that many are experiencing deep moral distress.

“But we cannot have one group dictate terms and attempt to disrupt important milestones like graduation to advance their point of view,” Shafik wrote.

Over the coming days, a working group of deans, school administrators and faculty will try to find a resolution to the university crisis, noted Shafik, who didn't say when in-person classes would resume.

U.S. House Republicans from New York urged Shafik to resign, saying in a&nbsp;<a href="https://files.constantcontact.com/81b76c35801/10181832-52e2-49dd-97db-124433534f8d.pdf?rdr=true">letter</a>&nbsp;Monday that she had failed to provide a safe learning environment in recent days as “anarchy has engulfed the campus.”

In Massachusetts, a sign said Harvard Yard was closed to the public Monday. It said structures, including tents and tables, were only allowed into the yard with prior permission. “Students violating these policies are subject to disciplinary action,” the sign said. Security guards were checking people for school IDs.

At Yale, police officers arrested about 45 protesters and charged them with misdemeanor trespassing, said Officer Christian Bruckhart, a New Haven police spokesperson. All were being released on promises to appear in court later, he said.

Protesters set up tents on Beinecke Plaza on Friday and demonstrated over the weekend, calling on Yale to end any investments in defense companies that do business with Israel.

Nadine Cubeisy, a Yale student and one of the protest's organizers, said it was disturbing that “this university that I’m going to, that I contribute to and that my friends give money to is using that money to fund violence.”

In a statement to the campus community on Sunday, Yale President Peter Salovey said university officials had spoken to the student protesters multiple times about the school’s policies and guidelines, including those regarding speech and allowing access to campus spaces.

School officials said they spoke with protesters over several hours and gave them until the end of the weekend to leave Beinecke Plaza. The said they again warned protesters Monday morning and told them that they could face arrest and discipline, including suspension, before police moved in.

A large group of demonstrators regathered after Monday's arrests at Yale and blocked a street near campus, said Bruckhart. There were no reports of any violence or injuries.

Last week, the University of Southern California took the unusual step of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/usc-muslim-valedictorian-speech-canceled-palestinians-israel-7b481db2d4e0db040b091bf8457f0b3f">canceling a planned commencement speech</a>&nbsp;by its 2024 valedictorian, who had publicly supported Palestinians. The university cited security concerns in a decision that was praised by some pro-Israel groups but criticized by free-speech advocates.

Several students at Columbia and its sister school, Barnard College, said they were suspended for taking part in last week’s protests, including Barnard student&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/israhirsi/status/1780980484203327780">Isra Hirsi</a>, the daughter of Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar. ___

Perry reported from Meredith, New Hampshire, and Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut. Associated Press writers Steve LeBlanc in Boston and Susan Haigh in Hartford contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713832443649.png" alt="Pro-Palestine protests at Columbia-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Pro-Palestine protests at Columbia-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Columbia canceled in-person classes, dozens of protesters were arrested at New York University and Yale, and the gates to Harvard Yard were closed to the public on Monday as some of the most prestigious U.S. universities sought to defuse campus tensions over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-04-22-2024-85da1c989f71f8c3bf00d8b45a0ed7f1">Israel's war with Hamas</a>.The various actions followed the arrest last week of more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had camped out on Columbia's green, as schools struggle with where to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/campus-free-speech-young-generation-tension-b931b0dd41aacaac5c50710de9549b09">draw the line</a>&nbsp;between allowing free expression while maintaining a safe and inclusive campus.In addition to the demonstrations at the Ivy League schools, pro-Palestinian encampments have sprouted up on other campuses, including at the University of Michigan, New York University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.In a statement on Instagram on Monday, New York University officials warned protesters to clear the plaza by 4 p.m. or face consequences. Mass arrests began around 8:30 p.m.The protests have pitted students against one another, with pro-Palestinian students demanding that their schools condemn Israel's assault on Gaza and divest from companies that sell weapons to Israel. Some Jewish students, meanwhile, say much of the criticism of Israel has veered into antisemitism and made them feel unsafe, and they point out that Hamas is still holding hostages taken during the group's Oct. 7 invasion.Tensions remained high Monday at Columbia in New York City, where the campus gates were locked to anyone without a school ID and where protests broke out both on campus and outside.U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning, a Democrat from North Carolina who was visiting Columbia with three other Jewish members of Congress, told reporters after meeting with students from the Jewish Law Students Association that there was “an enormous encampment of people” who had taken up about a third of the green.“We saw signs indicating that Israel should be destroyed,” she said after leaving the Morningside Heights campus.A woman inside the campus gates led about two dozen protesters on the street outside in a chant of, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” — a charged phrase that can mean&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/river-sea-israel-gaza-hamas-protests-d7abbd756f481fe50b6fa5c0b907cd49">vastly different things</a>&nbsp;to different groups. Meanwhile, a small group of pro-Israel counter demonstrators protested nearby.University President Minouche Shafik said in a message to the school community Monday that she was “deeply saddened” by what was happening on campus.“To deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps, I am announcing that all classes will be held virtually on Monday,” Shafik wrote, noting that students who don’t live on campus should stay away.Robert Kraft, who owns the New England Patriots football team and funded the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life across from Columbia’s campus, said he was suspending donations to the university.“I am no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff and I am not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken,” he said in a statement.Protests have roiled many college campuses since Hamas’&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-gaza-war-oct-7-327bfeb7bfce5cb0de1568bf41a0ff06">deadly attack</a>&nbsp;on southern Israel, when militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. During the ensuing war, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and non-combatants but says at least&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gaza-aqsa-martyrs-hospital-health-care-israel-7c7a6117efae29e22a61e82151144613">two-thirds of the dead are children and women</a>.Prahlad Iyengar, an MIT graduate student studying electrical engineering, was among about two dozen students who set up a tent encampment on the school's Cambridge, Massachusetts, campus Sunday evening. They are calling for a cease-fire and are protesting what they describe as MIT’s “complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza," he said.“MIT has not even called for a cease-fire, and that’s a demand we have for sure,” Iyengar said.He also said MIT has been sending out confusing rules about protests.“We’re out here to demonstrate that we reserve the right to protest. It’s an essential part of living on a college campus,” Iyengar said.On Sunday, Elie Buechler, a rabbi for the Orthodox Union’s Jewish Learning Initiative at Columbia, sent a WhatsApp message to nearly 300 Jewish students recommending they go home until it’s safer for them on campus.The latest developments came ahead of the Monday evening start of the Jewish holiday of Passover.Nicholas Baum, a 19-year-old Jewish freshman who lives in a Jewish theological seminary building two blocks from Columbia's campus, said protesters over the weekend were "calling for Hamas to blow away Tel Aviv and Israel.” He said some of the protesters shouting antisemitic slurs were not students.“Jews are scared at Columbia. It’s as simple as that. There’s been so much vilification of Zionism, and it has spilled over into the vilification of Judaism,” he said.The protest encampment sprung up at Columbia on Wednesday, the same day that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/columbia-president-congress-israel-hamas-antisemitism-3255357b4443c1fb4bae8b8ea5774ee5">Shafik faced bruising criticism</a>&nbsp;at a congressional hearing from Republicans who said she hadn't done enough to fight antisemitism. Two other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/columbia-president-congress-israel-hamas-antisemitism-3255357b4443c1fb4bae8b8ea5774ee5">Ivy League presidents resigned</a>&nbsp;months ago following widely criticized testimony they gave to the same committee.In her statement Monday, Shafik said the Middle East conflict is terrible and that she understands that many are experiencing deep moral distress.“But we cannot have one group dictate terms and attempt to disrupt important milestones like graduation to advance their point of view,” Shafik wrote.Over the coming days, a working group of deans, school administrators and faculty will try to find a resolution to the university crisis, noted Shafik, who didn't say when in-person classes would resume.U.S. House Republicans from New York urged Shafik to resign, saying in a&nbsp;<a href="https://files.constantcontact.com/81b76c35801/10181832-52e2-49dd-97db-124433534f8d.pdf?rdr=true">letter</a>&nbsp;Monday that she had failed to provide a safe learning environment in recent days as “anarchy has engulfed the campus.”In Massachusetts, a sign said Harvard Yard was closed to the public Monday. It said structures, including tents and tables, were only allowed into the yard with prior permission. “Students violating these policies are subject to disciplinary action,” the sign said. Security guards were checking people for school IDs.At Yale, police officers arrested about 45 protesters and charged them with misdemeanor trespassing, said Officer Christian Bruckhart, a New Haven police spokesperson. All were being released on promises to appear in court later, he said.Protesters set up tents on Beinecke Plaza on Friday and demonstrated over the weekend, calling on Yale to end any investments in defense companies that do business with Israel.Nadine Cubeisy, a Yale student and one of the protest's organizers, said it was disturbing that “this university that I’m going to, that I contribute to and that my friends give money to is using that money to fund violence.”In a statement to the campus community on Sunday, Yale President Peter Salovey said university officials had spoken to the student protesters multiple times about the school’s policies and guidelines, including those regarding speech and allowing access to campus spaces.School officials said they spoke with protesters over several hours and gave them until the end of the weekend to leave Beinecke Plaza. The said they again warned protesters Monday morning and told them that they could face arrest and discipline, including suspension, before police moved in.A large group of demonstrators regathered after Monday's arrests at Yale and blocked a street near campus, said Bruckhart. There were no reports of any violence or injuries.Last week, the University of Southern California took the unusual step of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/usc-muslim-valedictorian-speech-canceled-palestinians-israel-7b481db2d4e0db040b091bf8457f0b3f">canceling a planned commencement speech</a>&nbsp;by its 2024 valedictorian, who had publicly supported Palestinians. The university cited security concerns in a decision that was praised by some pro-Israel groups but criticized by free-speech advocates.Several students at Columbia and its sister school, Barnard College, said they were suspended for taking part in last week’s protests, including Barnard student&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/israhirsi/status/1780980484203327780">Isra Hirsi</a>, the daughter of Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar. ___Perry reported from Meredith, New Hampshire, and Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut. Associated Press writers Steve LeBlanc in Boston and Susan Haigh in Hartford contributed to this report.--------------

Pro-Palestinian protests sweep US college campuses following mass arrests at Columbia

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen threatened from the beginning of this year's legislative session that he would call lawmakers back for a special session if they failed to pass a bill to significantly ease soaring property taxes. On the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nebraska-legislature-session-ends-0ee276c3e9487583427e234aa413b3fd">last day of the 60-day session Thursday</a>, some lawmakers who helped torpedo an already anemic tax-shifting bill said they would welcome Pillen's special session.

“We're not going to fix this bill today,” said Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt, the lone independent in Nebraska's unique one-chamber, officially nonpartisan Legislature. “The time we're going to fix this is going to be in a special session where we start from scratch.”

Pillen followed through in his address to lawmakers just hours before they adjourned the session without taking a vote on the property tax relief bill he backed, saying he planned to issue a proclamation for a special session.

“I will call as many sessions as it takes to finish the long overdue work of solving our property tax crisis,” he said.

Nebraska law requires that a special session can be no shorter than seven days and that actions considered must be limited to the subjects outlined in the governor's proclamation. Pillen has in recent weeks said he would also consider a special session to change the way Nebraska allots its Electoral College votes to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/electoral-votes-nebraska-maine-3dc4b2f6cd59e3eb52ddc9ed15cf33e1">winner-take-all system</a>. Currently, Nebraska splits its presidential electoral votes based on the popular vote within its three congressional districts. Maine is the only other state to split its electoral votes.

Republicans want the switch ahead of this year’s hotly contested presidential election to ensure an electoral vote tied to Nebraska’s Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District doesn’t go to President Joe Biden,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-lincoln-omaha-93fdcb5a05fc62878b4fe70c2f7f6e5a">as it did in 2020</a>.

Pillen has said he'll include the winner-take-all issue in a special session call if there are enough votes to get it beyond a filibuster, which takes 33 votes. While Republicans currently hold 33 seats, not all of them are willing to toss out Nebraska's split system, so Pillen remains focused on passing property tax relief.

He had backed a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nebraska-legislature-session-ends-0ee276c3e9487583427e234aa413b3fd">bill</a>&nbsp;that initially sought to raise the state’s sales tax to 6.5%, which would have been among the highest in the country. It also expanded the sales tax base to items like candy, soda, pet grooming and veterinary services and digital advertising and included some caps on spending by local governments.

The measure squeaked through the first two rounds of debate, garnering just enough votes to overcome a filibuster. But by the time it reached the third and last round on the final day of the session, the sales tax increase had been stripped away, leaving just a fraction of the property tax savings originally sought.

The bill was key to Pillen’s plan to slash soaring property taxes. Just days into the session, Pillen called for a 40% reduction that would cut $2 billion from the $5.3 billion in property taxes collected in 2023. That property tax revenue compares to $3.4 billion collected just 10 years earlier, and is far more than the collections from sales and income tax, which brought in about $2.3 billion and $3 billion respectively in 2023.

Soaring housing and land prices in recent years have led to ballooning property tax bills for homeowners and farmers, but some homeowners have been hit especially hard, as state law requires residential property to be assessed at nearly 100% of market value, compared to 75% for agricultural land.

The skyrocketing costs are keeping a new generation from being able to afford homeownership, Pillen said. It's also forcing some elderly residents on fixed incomes out of homes they've already paid off because they can't afford the ever-rising tax bill, he said.

But the array of proposed sales tax increases was enough to find opponents in both liberals, who complained that it put too much of the tax burden on those least able to afford it, and conservatives, who called for more reductions in spending over new taxes.

Democratic Sen. Danielle Conrad labeled the bill “one of the largest tax increases in Nebraska history," drawing protest from the bill's main sponsor, Republican Sen. Lou Ann Linehan. who defended it as a tax shift to a wider base of taxpayers.

“It's easy to say, ‘No, no, no,’" she said. “So everybody who's saying we can do better, I hope you have those ideas to the Revenue Committee by the end of June.”

If Pillen follows through with the special session, Nebraska would join several other states that have done so or are expected to later this year. On Wednesday, Virginia's Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the state's General Assembly reached a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virginia-legislature-glenn-youngkin-session-reconvened-4362e039df3be22725777d15ce385a00">budget agreement</a>&nbsp;that will require a special session in May. On the same day, New Mexico’s Democratic governor announced a mid-summer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-mexico-governor-special-session-crime-cc70807f7adb7e1738439e72283a8a45">special legislative session</a>&nbsp;on public safety initiatives.

In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves called two special sessions in January during the regular legislative session for lawmakers to consider incentives for economic development projects. And in Louisiana, the Republican-dominated legislature passed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-crime-bills-landry-justice-9299f1217b0f67cc7a8fbf948f369af3">a slew of tough-on-crime policies</a>&nbsp;during a two-week special session in February that included expanding death row execution methods, charging 17-year-olds as adults and eliminating parole for most people who are jailed in the future.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen threatened from the beginning of this year's legislative session that he would call lawmakers back for a special session if they failed to pass a bill to significantly ease soaring property taxes. On the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nebraska-legislature-session-ends-0ee276c3e9487583427e234aa413b3fd">last day of the 60-day session Thursday</a>, some lawmakers who helped torpedo an already anemic tax-shifting bill said they would welcome Pillen's special session.“We're not going to fix this bill today,” said Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt, the lone independent in Nebraska's unique one-chamber, officially nonpartisan Legislature. “The time we're going to fix this is going to be in a special session where we start from scratch.”Pillen followed through in his address to lawmakers just hours before they adjourned the session without taking a vote on the property tax relief bill he backed, saying he planned to issue a proclamation for a special session.“I will call as many sessions as it takes to finish the long overdue work of solving our property tax crisis,” he said.Nebraska law requires that a special session can be no shorter than seven days and that actions considered must be limited to the subjects outlined in the governor's proclamation. Pillen has in recent weeks said he would also consider a special session to change the way Nebraska allots its Electoral College votes to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/electoral-votes-nebraska-maine-3dc4b2f6cd59e3eb52ddc9ed15cf33e1">winner-take-all system</a>. Currently, Nebraska splits its presidential electoral votes based on the popular vote within its three congressional districts. Maine is the only other state to split its electoral votes.Republicans want the switch ahead of this year’s hotly contested presidential election to ensure an electoral vote tied to Nebraska’s Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District doesn’t go to President Joe Biden,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-lincoln-omaha-93fdcb5a05fc62878b4fe70c2f7f6e5a">as it did in 2020</a>.Pillen has said he'll include the winner-take-all issue in a special session call if there are enough votes to get it beyond a filibuster, which takes 33 votes. While Republicans currently hold 33 seats, not all of them are willing to toss out Nebraska's split system, so Pillen remains focused on passing property tax relief.He had backed a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nebraska-legislature-session-ends-0ee276c3e9487583427e234aa413b3fd">bill</a>&nbsp;that initially sought to raise the state’s sales tax to 6.5%, which would have been among the highest in the country. It also expanded the sales tax base to items like candy, soda, pet grooming and veterinary services and digital advertising and included some caps on spending by local governments.The measure squeaked through the first two rounds of debate, garnering just enough votes to overcome a filibuster. But by the time it reached the third and last round on the final day of the session, the sales tax increase had been stripped away, leaving just a fraction of the property tax savings originally sought.The bill was key to Pillen’s plan to slash soaring property taxes. Just days into the session, Pillen called for a 40% reduction that would cut $2 billion from the $5.3 billion in property taxes collected in 2023. That property tax revenue compares to $3.4 billion collected just 10 years earlier, and is far more than the collections from sales and income tax, which brought in about $2.3 billion and $3 billion respectively in 2023.Soaring housing and land prices in recent years have led to ballooning property tax bills for homeowners and farmers, but some homeowners have been hit especially hard, as state law requires residential property to be assessed at nearly 100% of market value, compared to 75% for agricultural land.The skyrocketing costs are keeping a new generation from being able to afford homeownership, Pillen said. It's also forcing some elderly residents on fixed incomes out of homes they've already paid off because they can't afford the ever-rising tax bill, he said.But the array of proposed sales tax increases was enough to find opponents in both liberals, who complained that it put too much of the tax burden on those least able to afford it, and conservatives, who called for more reductions in spending over new taxes.Democratic Sen. Danielle Conrad labeled the bill “one of the largest tax increases in Nebraska history," drawing protest from the bill's main sponsor, Republican Sen. Lou Ann Linehan. who defended it as a tax shift to a wider base of taxpayers.“It's easy to say, ‘No, no, no,’" she said. “So everybody who's saying we can do better, I hope you have those ideas to the Revenue Committee by the end of June.”If Pillen follows through with the special session, Nebraska would join several other states that have done so or are expected to later this year. On Wednesday, Virginia's Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the state's General Assembly reached a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virginia-legislature-glenn-youngkin-session-reconvened-4362e039df3be22725777d15ce385a00">budget agreement</a>&nbsp;that will require a special session in May. On the same day, New Mexico’s Democratic governor announced a mid-summer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-mexico-governor-special-session-crime-cc70807f7adb7e1738439e72283a8a45">special legislative session</a>&nbsp;on public safety initiatives.In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves called two special sessions in January during the regular legislative session for lawmakers to consider incentives for economic development projects. And in Louisiana, the Republican-dominated legislature passed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-crime-bills-landry-justice-9299f1217b0f67cc7a8fbf948f369af3">a slew of tough-on-crime policies</a>&nbsp;during a two-week special session in February that included expanding death row execution methods, charging 17-year-olds as adults and eliminating parole for most people who are jailed in the future.

Nebraska's governor says he'll call lawmakers back to address tax relief

NEW YORK (AP) — Monday's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-hush-money-opening-stormy-daniels-6beee9b99114898ee0dd60185d43bac5">opening statements in the first criminal trial</a>&nbsp;of a former American president provided a clear roadmap of how prosecutors will try to make the case that Donald Trump broke the law, and how the defense plans to fight the charges on multiple fronts.

Lawyers presented dueling narratives as jurors got their first glimpse into the prosecution accusing Trump of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arraignment-hush-money-81225510ef7638494852816878f612f0">falsifying business records</a>&nbsp;as part of a scheme to squelch negative stories about him during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Still to come are weeks of what's likely to be dramatic and embarrassing testimony about the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's personal life as he simultaneously campaigns to return to the White House in November.

Here's a look at some key takeaways from opening statements:

ELECTION FRAUD VS. ‘BOOKKEEPING’ CASE

Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying internal Trump Organization business records. But prosecutors made clear they do not want jurors to view this as a routine paper case. Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said the heart of the case is a scheme to “corrupt” the 2016 election by silencing people who were about to come forward with embarrassing stories Trump feared would hurt his campaign.

“No politician wants bad press," Colangelo said. “But the evidence at trial will show that this was not spin or communications strategy. This was a planned, long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, to help Donald Trump get elected through illegal expenditures to silence people who had something bad to say about his behavior.” He added: “It was election fraud, pure and simple.”

The business records charges stem from things like invoices and checks that were deemed legal expenses in Trump Organization records when prosecutors say they were really reimbursements to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels. Daniels was threatening to go public with claims she had an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump. He says it never happened.

Prosecutors' characterizations appear designed to combat suggestions by some pundits that the case — perhaps the only one that will go to trial before the November election — isn't as serious as the&nbsp;<a href="https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker/index.html">other three prosecutions</a>&nbsp;he's facing. Those cases accuse Trump of trying to overturn&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc">the 2020 election he lost to President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-delay-trial-election-83be6fb5362e7bb2b7aaf6371a9acabf">illegally retaining classified documents</a>&nbsp;after he left the White House.

Trump, meanwhile, sought to downplay the accusations while leaving the courtroom on Monday, calling it all a “bookkeeping" case and “a very minor thing.” But he, too, has said it’s all about an election — the one this November. Trump has repeatedly claimed that the case is part of a sweeping Democratic attempt to harm his chances at reclaiming the presidency.

Trump’s attorney used his opening statement to attack the case as baseless, saying the former president did nothing illegal.

The attorney, Todd Blanche, challenged prosecutors’ claim that Trump agreed to pay Daniels to aid his campaign, saying Trump was trying to “protect his family, his reputation and his brand."

Blanche indicated the defense will argue that after all the very point of a presidential campaign is to try to influence an election.

"It’s called democracy,” Blanche told jurors. “They put something sinister on this idea, as if it’s a crime. You’ll learn it’s not.”

Blanche also portrayed the ledger entries at issue in the case as pro forma actions performed by a Trump Organization employee. Trump “had nothing to do with” the allegedly false business records, “except that he signed the checks, in the White House, while he was running the country,” Blanche said. And he argued that the records’ references to legal expenses weren’t false, since Cohen was Trump’s personal lawyer at the time.

PROSECUTORS AIM TO PUT TRUMP AT THE CENTER

The 34 counts in the indictment are related to the payment to Daniels. But prosecutors plan to introduce evidence about a payoff to another woman — former Playboy model&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/d8f22980841e44939399ae7179a4d583">Karen McDougal</a>&nbsp;— who claimed a sexual encounter with Trump, as well as to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-united-states-government-f37ecfc4710b468db6a103a245146172">Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have a story</a>&nbsp;about Trump having a child out of wedlock. Trump says they were all lies.

Prosecutors said they will show Trump was at the center of the scheme to silence the women, telling jurors they will hear Trump in his voice talking about the plan to pay McDougal. Cohen arranged for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1beb4bf23d0043eab87396ec56054814">publisher of the National Enquirer supermarket tabloid</a>&nbsp;to pay McDougal $150,000 but not print the story in a practice known as “catch-and-kill.”

Colangelo told jurors that prosecutors will play for them a recording Cohen secretly made during a meeting with Trump weeks before the 2016 election. In the recording, which first became public in 2018, Trump is heard saying: “What do we got to pay for this? One-fifty?”

Trump “desperately did not want this information about Karen McDougal to become public because he was worried about its effect on the election," Colangelo said.

The defense's opening statement previewed what will be a key strategy of the defense: trying to discredit Cohen, a Trump loyalist turned critic and expected star witness for the prosecution. Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the hush money payments in 2018 and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/8b9d39ea54374ae296a9a8401bf58cb8">and served prison time</a>.

Whether jurors believe Cohen, who says he arranged the payments to the women at Trump's direction, could make or break the case for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-manhattan-da-bragg-hush-money-trial-a164881f43b1d5064a528b36eada937e">Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office.</a>

Trump's lawyer highlighted Cohen's criminal record, describing him as a serial liar who turned against Trump after he was not given a job in the administration and found himself in legal trouble. Blanche said Cohen's “entire financial livelihood depends on President Trump’s destruction,” noting he hosts podcasts and has written books bashing his ex-boss.

“He has a goal and an obsession with getting Trump,” Blanche said. “I submit to you that he cannot be trusted.”

Anticipating the defense attacks on Cohen, the prosecution promised to be upfront about the “mistakes” the former Trump attorney has made. But Colangelo said “you can credit Michael Cohen's testimony" despite his past.

“I suspect the defense will go to great lengths to get you to reject his testimony precisely because it is so damning,” the prosecutor said.

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker is the first witness for prosecutors, who say that Trump’s alleged scheme to conceal potentially damaging information from voters began with a 2015 Trump Tower meeting among the then-candidate, Pecker and Cohen. Pecker took the witness stand Monday before court broke for the day and his testimony is expected to continue Tuesday.

At the meeting, Pecker — a longtime Trump friend — agreed to aid Trump’s campaign by running favorable pieces about him, smearing his opponents, scouting unflattering stories about him and flagging them to Cohen for “catch-and-kill” deals. Those included the claims made by Daniels, McDougal and the former Trump Tower doorman, Dino Sajudin, prosecutors say. Trump says all were false.

Pecker will likely be asked about all the alleged efforts made by the Enquirer’s then-owner, American Media Inc., on Trump’s behalf. Federal prosecutors agreed in 2018&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1beb4bf23d0043eab87396ec56054814">not to prosecute American Media</a>&nbsp;in exchange for its cooperation in a campaign finance investigation that led to Cohen’s guilty plea, and the Federal Election Commission fined the company $187,500, calling the McDougal deal a “prohibited corporate in-kind contribution.”

Pecker’s brief turn on the stand Monday was mainly just about his background and other basic facts, though he did say the Enquirer practiced “checkbook journalism” — paying for stories — and that he had the final say on any story about a famous person.

'THE DEFENDANT’ OR ’PRESIDENT TRUMP'?

The prosecutor referred to Trump during his opening statement as “the defendant.” Trump's lawyer took a different tack, calling him “President Trump.”

“We will call him President Trump, out of respect for the office that he held,” Blanche said. At the same time, Trump's lawyer sought to portray Trump as an everyman, describing him as a husband, father and fellow New Yorker.

“He’s, in some ways, larger than life. But he’s also here in this courtroom, doing what any of us would do: defending himself,” Blanche said.

Trump sat quietly while listening to opening statements, occasionally passing notes to his lawyers and whispering in their ears. But outside of the courtroom, he continued his pattern of trying to capitalize politically on the case that will require him to spend his days in a courtroom rather than on the campaign trail.

“This is what they’re trying to take me off the trail for. Checks being paid to a lawyer,” Trump said

NEW YORK (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;tried to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election by preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public, a prosecutor told jurors Monday at the start of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-manhattan-stormy-daniels-michael-cohen-b514cb52bb31a82579cb827c40166173">former president's historic hush money trial.</a>

"This was a planned, long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, to help Donald Trump get elected through illegal expenditures to silence people who had something bad to say about his behavior,” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said. “It was election fraud, pure and simple.”

A defense lawyer countered by assailing the case as baseless and attacking the integrity of the onetime Trump confidant who's now the government's star witness.

“President Trump is innocent. President Trump did not commit any crimes. The Manhattan district attorney’s office should never have brought this case,” attorney Todd Blanche said.

The opening statements offered the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-hush-money-jury-selection-24147c3774c8a411044c530cafcab292">12-person jury</a>&nbsp;— and the voting public — radically divergent roadmaps for a case that will unfold against the backdrop of a closely contested White House race in which Trump is not only the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-biden-primary-georgia-washington-mississippi-hawaii-15bb0084ad656903ffef14cfae822abd">presumptive Republican nominee</a>&nbsp;but also a criminal defendant facing the prospect of a felony conviction and prison.

It is the first criminal trial of a former American president and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker/">first of four prosecutions of Trump</a>&nbsp;to reach a jury. Befitting that history, prosecutors sought from the outset to elevate the gravity of the case, which they said was chiefly about election interference as reflected by the hush money payments to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stormy-daniels-donald-trump-d3dce88566bafb714dbb5c1acd3e4a83">porn actor who said she had a sexual encounter</a>&nbsp;with Trump.

“The defendant, Donald Trump, orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election. Then he covered up that criminal conspiracy by lying in his New York business records over and over and over again,” Colangelo said.

The trial, which could last up to two months, will require Trump to spend his days in a courtroom rather than on the campaign trail, a reality he complained about Monday when he lamented to reporters after leaving the courtroom: “I’m the leading candidate ... and this is what they’re trying to take me off the trail for. Checks being paid to a lawyer."

Trump has nonetheless sought to turn his criminal defendant status into an asset for his campaign, fundraising off his legal jeopardy and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-harlem-trial-bodega-909f0abee3f1951a2ffdabc8072d61a7">repeatedly railing against a justice system</a>&nbsp;that he has for years claimed is weaponized against him. In the weeks ahead, the case will test the jury's ability to judge him impartially but also Trump's ability to comply with courtroom protocol, including a gag order barring him from attacking witnesses, jurors, trial prosecutors and some others.

Trump faces&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arraignment-hush-money-81225510ef7638494852816878f612f0">34 felony counts of falsifying business records</a>&nbsp;— a charge punishable by up to four years in prison — though it’s not clear if the judge would seek to put him behind bars. A conviction would not preclude Trump from becoming president again, but because it is a state case, he would not be able to pardon himself if found guilty. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The case brought by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-manhattan-da-bragg-hush-money-trial-a164881f43b1d5064a528b36eada937e">Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg</a>&nbsp;revisits a years-old chapter from Trump’s biography when his celebrity past collided with his political ambitions and, prosecutors say, he scrambled to stifle stories that he feared could torpedo his campaign.

The opening statements served as an introduction to the colorful cast of characters that feature prominently in that tawdry saga, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-manhattan-stormy-daniels-michael-cohen-b514cb52bb31a82579cb827c40166173">Stormy Daniels, the porn actor who says she received the hush money</a>; Michael Cohen, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/michael-cohen">lawyer who prosecutors say paid her;</a>&nbsp;and David Pecker, the tabloid publisher who agreed to function as the campaign’s “eyes and ears" and who served as the prosecution's first witness on Monday.

Pecker is due back on the stand Tuesday, when the court will also hear arguments on whether Trump violated Judge Juan Merchan's gag order with a series of Truth Social posts about witnesses over the last week.

In his opening statement, Colangelo outlined a comprehensive effort by Trump his allies to prevent three separate stories — two from women alleging prior sexual encounters — from surfacing during the 2016 presidential campaign. That undertaking was especially urgent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-access-hollywood-hush-money-new-york-2c52279a45ede2a111ff1fe447d2fdac">following the emergence late in the race of a 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording</a>&nbsp;in which Trump could be heard boasting about grabbing women sexually without their permission.

Colangelo recited Trump’s now-infamous remarks as Trump looked on, stone-faced.

“The impact of that tape on the campaign was immediate and explosive,” Colangelo said.

Within days of the “Access Hollywood” tape becoming public, Colangelo told jurors that the National Enquirer alerted Cohen that Stormy Daniels was agitating to go public with her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.

“At Trump’s direction, Cohen negotiated a deal to buy Ms. Daniels’ story to prevent American voters from hearing that story before Election Day,” Colangelo told jurors.

But, the prosecutor noted, “neither Trump nor the Trump Organization could just write a check to Cohen with a memo line that said ‘reimbursement for porn star payoff.'" So, he added, "they agreed to cook the books and make it look like the payment was actually income, payment for services rendered.”

Those alleged falsified records form the backbone of the 34-count indictment against Trump. Trump has denied a sexual encounter with Daniels.

Blanche, the defense lawyer, sought to preemptively undermine the credibility of Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges related to his role in the hush money scheme, as someone with an “obsession” with Trump who cannot be trusted. He said Trump had done nothing illegal when his company recorded the checks to Cohen as legal expenses.

“There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It is called democracy,” not a crime, Blanche said.

Blanche challenged the notion that Trump agreed to the Daniels payout to safeguard his campaign. Instead, he characterized the transaction as an attempt to squelch a “sinister” effort to embarrass Trump and his loved ones.

“President Trump fought back, like he always does, and like he’s entitled to do, to protect his family, his reputation and his brand, and that is not a crime,” Blanche told jurors.

The efforts to suppress the stories are what’s known in the tabloid industry as “catch-and-kill” — catching a potentially damaging story by buying the rights to it and then killing it through agreements that prevent the paid person from telling the story to anyone else.

Besides the payment to Daniels, Colangelo also described other arrangements, including one that paid a former Playboy model $150,000 to suppress claims of a nearly yearlong affair with the married Trump. Colangelo said Trump “desperately did not want this information about Karen McDougal to become public because he was worried about its effect on the election.”

He said jurors would hear a recording Cohen made in September 2016 of himself briefing Trump on the plan to buy McDougal’s story. The recording was made public in July 2018. Colangelo told jurors they will hear Trump in his own voice saying: “What do we got to pay for this? One-fifty?”

Trump denies McDougal's claims of an affair.

The first and only witness Monday was Pecker, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-criminal-trial-hush-money-stormy-daniels-5fdc819697a76536ed83cbf28d4a523c">then-publisher of the National Enquirer and a longtime Trump friend who prosecutors say</a>&nbsp;met with Trump and Cohen at Trump Tower in August 2015 and agreed to help Trump’s campaign identify negative stories about him.

Pecker described the tabloid's use of “checkbook journalism,” a practice that entails paying a source for a story.

“I gave a number to the editors that they could not spend more than $10,000” on a story without getting his approval, Pecker said Tuesday.

The New York case has taken on added importance because it may be the only one of the four against Trump to reach trial before the November election.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/prosecuted-election-interference-april-immunity-claim-2020-election-7ddd54224350e0fbbf6b71a4461874c7">Appeals</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-election-indictment-fani-willis-trump-60b7dd9642fc9ef7c03d75980692334c">legal wrangling</a>&nbsp;have delayed the other three cases.

Blockbuster opening statements in Trump’s historic criminal trial 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency cleared the way Friday for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ethanol-e15-gas-midwest-ba37597f6d1880e31d94180a13299e35">higher blend of ethanol</a>&nbsp;to be sold nationwide for the third summer in a row, citing global conflicts that it says are putting pressure on the world's fuel supply.

The agency announced an emergency waiver that will exempt gasoline blended with 15% ethanol from an existing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-business-smog-environment-4a877e9afc2837609c4a0aee72a042bc">summertime ban</a>. Gasoline with 10% ethanol is already sold nationwide, but the higher blend has been prohibited in the summer because of concerns it could worsen smog during warm weather.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the waiver was warranted because of “Russia’s unjustified, unprovoked, and unconscionable war against Ukraine” and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which he said are putting pressure on the global fuel supply. He said the diminished U.S. refining capacity is also a factor.

The biofuels industry and politicians in the Midwestern states where ethanol is produced from corn praised the EPA’s decision. They have portrayed ethanol as a product that helps farmers, reduces prices at the pump and lessens greenhouse gases because the fuel burns more cleanly than gasoline.

“Allowing uninterrupted sales of E15 will help extend gasoline supplies, prevent fuel shortages, protect air quality and reduce carbon emissions,” said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called the decision “a huge victory for Iowa farmers, American energy independence, and consumers.”

Environmentalists and others, however, have said increased ethanol production can increase carbon releases because it results in more corn production, leading to increased use of fertilizer and greater releases of nitrate. Synthetic and natural fertilizers also are a leading source of water pollution.

Iowa leads the nation in ethanol production, followed by Nebraska, Illinois, South Dakota, Minnesota and Indiana.

Most gasoline sold across the country today is blended with 10% ethanol, though 15% blends are becoming increasingly common, especially in the Midwest.

The EPA has approved sales of E15 for cars and trucks manufactured after 2000. The RFA estimates that the higher blend will cost consumers&nbsp;<a href="https://ethanolrfa.org/media-and-news/category/news-releases/article/2023/04/new-analysis-shows-consumers-save-at-least-25-cents-per-gallon-with-e15">more than 25 cents a gallon less</a>&nbsp;than 10% ethanol.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency cleared the way Friday for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ethanol-e15-gas-midwest-ba37597f6d1880e31d94180a13299e35">higher blend of ethanol</a>&nbsp;to be sold nationwide for the third summer in a row, citing global conflicts that it says are putting pressure on the world's fuel supply.The agency announced an emergency waiver that will exempt gasoline blended with 15% ethanol from an existing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-business-smog-environment-4a877e9afc2837609c4a0aee72a042bc">summertime ban</a>. Gasoline with 10% ethanol is already sold nationwide, but the higher blend has been prohibited in the summer because of concerns it could worsen smog during warm weather.EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the waiver was warranted because of “Russia’s unjustified, unprovoked, and unconscionable war against Ukraine” and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which he said are putting pressure on the global fuel supply. He said the diminished U.S. refining capacity is also a factor.The biofuels industry and politicians in the Midwestern states where ethanol is produced from corn praised the EPA’s decision. They have portrayed ethanol as a product that helps farmers, reduces prices at the pump and lessens greenhouse gases because the fuel burns more cleanly than gasoline.“Allowing uninterrupted sales of E15 will help extend gasoline supplies, prevent fuel shortages, protect air quality and reduce carbon emissions,” said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper.Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called the decision “a huge victory for Iowa farmers, American energy independence, and consumers.”Environmentalists and others, however, have said increased ethanol production can increase carbon releases because it results in more corn production, leading to increased use of fertilizer and greater releases of nitrate. Synthetic and natural fertilizers also are a leading source of water pollution.Iowa leads the nation in ethanol production, followed by Nebraska, Illinois, South Dakota, Minnesota and Indiana.Most gasoline sold across the country today is blended with 10% ethanol, though 15% blends are becoming increasingly common, especially in the Midwest.The EPA has approved sales of E15 for cars and trucks manufactured after 2000. The RFA estimates that the higher blend will cost consumers&nbsp;<a href="https://ethanolrfa.org/media-and-news/category/news-releases/article/2023/04/new-analysis-shows-consumers-save-at-least-25-cents-per-gallon-with-e15">more than 25 cents a gallon less</a>&nbsp;than 10% ethanol.

The EPA is again allowing summer sales of higher ethanol gasoline blend, citing global conflicts

Kimball, Neb. - No serious injuries were reported after the Kimball Sherrif's Office responded to a one vehicle accident on Saturday, April 20th.

According to officials, the department responded to a one vehicle rollover on South 71 Highway. There were no serious injuries. Kimball EMS also responded to the scene. Winter weather conditions were in the area at the time of the accident.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713802222972.jpeg" alt="(Courtesy of the Kimball County Sheriff's Office)" />
 <figcaption>(Courtesy of the Kimball County Sheriff's Office)</figcaption>
 </figure>Sandhills/Panhandle PostKimball, Neb. - No serious injuries were reported after the Kimball Sherrif's Office responded to a one vehicle accident on Saturday, April 20th.According to officials, the department responded to a one vehicle rollover on South 71 Highway. There were no serious injuries. Kimball EMS also responded to the scene. Winter weather conditions were in the area at the time of the accident.

No serious injuries following one vehicle accident over the weekend in the Panhandle

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Saturday signed legislation reauthorizing a key&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/government-surveillance">U.S. surveillance law</a>&nbsp;after divisions over whether the FBI should be restricted from using the program to search for Americans’ data nearly forced the statute to lapse.

Barely missing its midnight deadline, the Senate had approved the bill by a 60-34 vote hours earlier with bipartisan support, extending for two years the program known as Section 702 of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-surveillance-section-702-c69db6741ca9f4c26f24ebf5941a5cb0">Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act</a>.

Kansas Senator Jerry Moran along with Nebraska Senators Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts voted for the bill. Kansas Senator Roger Marshall and Missouri Senator Josh Hawley voted against the measure.&nbsp; Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt did not vote.

Biden thanked congressional leaders for their work.

“In the nick of time, we are reauthorizing FISA right before it expires at midnight,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said when voting on final passage began 15 minutes before the deadline. “All day long, we persisted and we persisted in trying to reach a breakthrough and in the end, we have succeeded.”

U.S. officials have said the surveillance tool, first authorized in 2008 and renewed several times since then, is crucial in disrupting terrorist attacks, cyber intrusions, and foreign espionage and has also produced intelligence that the U.S. has relied on for specific operations, such as the 2022 killing of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ayman-al-zawahri">al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri.</a>

“If you miss a key piece of intelligence, you may miss some event overseas or put troops in harm’s way," Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said. "You may miss a plot to harm the country here, domestically, or somewhere else. So in this particular case, there’s real-life implications.”

The proposal would renew the program, which permits the U.S. government to collect without a warrant the communications of non-Americans located outside the country to gather foreign intelligence. The reauthorization faced a long and bumpy road to final passage Friday after months of clashes between privacy advocates and national security hawks pushed consideration of the legislation to the brink of expiration.

Though the spy program was technically set to expire at midnight Saturday, the Biden administration had said it expected its authority to collect intelligence to remain operational for at least another year, thanks to an opinion earlier this month from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which receives surveillance applications.

Still, officials had said that court approval shouldn’t be a substitute for congressional authorization, especially since communications companies could cease cooperation with the government if the program is allowed to lapse.

Hours before the law was set to expire, U.S. officials were already scrambling after two major U.S. communication providers said they would stop complying with orders through the surveillance program, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations.

Attorney General Merrick Garland praised the reauthorization and reiterated how “indispensable” the tool is to the Justice Department.

“This reauthorization of Section 702 gives the United States the authority to continue to collect foreign intelligence information about non-U.S. persons located outside the United States, while at the same time codifying important reforms the Justice Department has adopted to ensure the protection of Americans’ privacy and civil liberties," Garland said in a statement Saturday.

But despite the Biden administration's urging and classified briefings to senators this week on the crucial role they say the spy program plays in protecting national security, a group of progressive and conservative lawmakers who were agitating for further changes had refused to accept the version of the bill the House sent over last week.

The lawmakers had demanded that Schumer, D-N.Y., allow votes on amendments to the legislation that would seek to address what they see as civil liberty loopholes in the bill. In the end, Schumer was able to cut a deal that would allow critics to receive floor votes on their amendments in exchange for speeding up the process for passage.

The six amendments ultimately failed to garner the necessary support on the floor to be included in the final passage.

One of the major changes detractors had proposed centered around restricting the FBI’s access to information about Americans through the program. Though the surveillance tool only targets non-Americans in other countries, it also collects communications of Americans when they are in contact with those targeted foreigners. Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the chamber, had been pushing a proposal that would require U.S. officials to get a warrant before accessing American communications.

“If the government wants to spy on my private communications or the private communications of any American, they should be required to get approval from a judge, just as our Founding Fathers intended in writing the Constitution,” Durbin said.

In the past year, U.S. officials have revealed a series of abuses and mistakes by FBI analysts in improperly querying the intelligence repository for information about Americans or others in the U.S., including a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fisa-foreign-surveillance-fbi-3f7d4cc0ef413cdf20bc0b70548cde84">member of Congress</a>&nbsp;and participants in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-fbi-surveillance-75c466a64e838ab12eaef96f6335f3cd">racial justice protests of 2020</a>&nbsp;and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

But members on both the House and Senate intelligence committees as well as the Justice Department warned requiring a warrant would severely handicap officials from quickly responding to imminent national security threats.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711625997149.png" alt="File photo White House&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>File photo White House&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Saturday signed legislation reauthorizing a key&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/government-surveillance">U.S. surveillance law</a>&nbsp;after divisions over whether the FBI should be restricted from using the program to search for Americans’ data nearly forced the statute to lapse.Barely missing its midnight deadline, the Senate had approved the bill by a 60-34 vote hours earlier with bipartisan support, extending for two years the program known as Section 702 of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-surveillance-section-702-c69db6741ca9f4c26f24ebf5941a5cb0">Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act</a>. Kansas Senator Jerry Moran along with Nebraska Senators Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts voted for the bill. Kansas Senator Roger Marshall and Missouri Senator Josh Hawley voted against the measure.&nbsp; Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt did not vote.Biden thanked congressional leaders for their work.“In the nick of time, we are reauthorizing FISA right before it expires at midnight,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said when voting on final passage began 15 minutes before the deadline. “All day long, we persisted and we persisted in trying to reach a breakthrough and in the end, we have succeeded.”U.S. officials have said the surveillance tool, first authorized in 2008 and renewed several times since then, is crucial in disrupting terrorist attacks, cyber intrusions, and foreign espionage and has also produced intelligence that the U.S. has relied on for specific operations, such as the 2022 killing of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ayman-al-zawahri">al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri.</a>“If you miss a key piece of intelligence, you may miss some event overseas or put troops in harm’s way," Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said. "You may miss a plot to harm the country here, domestically, or somewhere else. So in this particular case, there’s real-life implications.”The proposal would renew the program, which permits the U.S. government to collect without a warrant the communications of non-Americans located outside the country to gather foreign intelligence. The reauthorization faced a long and bumpy road to final passage Friday after months of clashes between privacy advocates and national security hawks pushed consideration of the legislation to the brink of expiration.Though the spy program was technically set to expire at midnight Saturday, the Biden administration had said it expected its authority to collect intelligence to remain operational for at least another year, thanks to an opinion earlier this month from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which receives surveillance applications.Still, officials had said that court approval shouldn’t be a substitute for congressional authorization, especially since communications companies could cease cooperation with the government if the program is allowed to lapse.Hours before the law was set to expire, U.S. officials were already scrambling after two major U.S. communication providers said they would stop complying with orders through the surveillance program, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations.Attorney General Merrick Garland praised the reauthorization and reiterated how “indispensable” the tool is to the Justice Department.“This reauthorization of Section 702 gives the United States the authority to continue to collect foreign intelligence information about non-U.S. persons located outside the United States, while at the same time codifying important reforms the Justice Department has adopted to ensure the protection of Americans’ privacy and civil liberties," Garland said in a statement Saturday.But despite the Biden administration's urging and classified briefings to senators this week on the crucial role they say the spy program plays in protecting national security, a group of progressive and conservative lawmakers who were agitating for further changes had refused to accept the version of the bill the House sent over last week.The lawmakers had demanded that Schumer, D-N.Y., allow votes on amendments to the legislation that would seek to address what they see as civil liberty loopholes in the bill. In the end, Schumer was able to cut a deal that would allow critics to receive floor votes on their amendments in exchange for speeding up the process for passage.The six amendments ultimately failed to garner the necessary support on the floor to be included in the final passage.One of the major changes detractors had proposed centered around restricting the FBI’s access to information about Americans through the program. Though the surveillance tool only targets non-Americans in other countries, it also collects communications of Americans when they are in contact with those targeted foreigners. Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the chamber, had been pushing a proposal that would require U.S. officials to get a warrant before accessing American communications.“If the government wants to spy on my private communications or the private communications of any American, they should be required to get approval from a judge, just as our Founding Fathers intended in writing the Constitution,” Durbin said.In the past year, U.S. officials have revealed a series of abuses and mistakes by FBI analysts in improperly querying the intelligence repository for information about Americans or others in the U.S., including a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fisa-foreign-surveillance-fbi-3f7d4cc0ef413cdf20bc0b70548cde84">member of Congress</a>&nbsp;and participants in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-fbi-surveillance-75c466a64e838ab12eaef96f6335f3cd">racial justice protests of 2020</a>&nbsp;and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.But members on both the House and Senate intelligence committees as well as the Justice Department warned requiring a warrant would severely handicap officials from quickly responding to imminent national security threats.“I think that is a risk that we cannot afford to take with the vast array of challenges our nation faces around the world,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.